Train Ride
2005 · Movie
as Dean of Students
Esther Rolle
1920-11-08
•
Pompano Beach, Florida USA
Esther Elizabeth Rolle (November 8, 1920 – November 17, 1998) was a Bahamian American actress. Rolle is best known for her role as Florida Evans, on the CBS television sitcom Maude, for two seasons (1972–1974), and its spin-off series Good Times, for five seasons (1974–77, 1978–79), for which Rolle was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Television Series Musical or Comedy in 1976. Rolle is best known for her television role as Florida Evans, the character she played on two 1970s sitcoms. The character was introduced as Maude Findlay's housekeeper on Maude, and was spun off in the show's second season into Good Times, a show about Florida's family. Rolle was nominated in 1975 for the Best Actress in a Musical/Comedy Golden Globe Award for her role in Good Times. Rolle was 19 years older than the actor (John Amos) who played her husband James Evans. The James Evans character was only added after Esther Rolle fought hard for a father figure and husband to be added to the show. Rolle had fought for the father character on the show, more relevant themes and scripts and was unhappy when the success of Jimmie Walker's character, J.J. Evans, took the show in a frivolous direction. John Amos agreed with Rolle about Walker's character and was fired from the show after the third season ended. Later on, in a stand-off with Good Times producer Norman Lear, Rolle also quit when her contract ended. Although the show continued without her for the fifth season, she returned for the show's final season. In 1979 she won an Emmy for her role in Summer of My German Soldier, a made-for-television movie. Among her guest star roles was one on The Incredible Hulk in an episode entitled "Behind the Wheel" where she played a taxicab business owner. In the 1990s, Rolle was a surprise guest on RuPaul's VH-1 talk show. Her Maude co-star Bea Arthur was the guest, and Rolle was brought out to surprise Arthur. The two had not seen each other in years, Arthur said, and embraced warmly. Rolle also appeared in a series of psychic hotline TV commercials in the 1990s. "Tell them Esther sent you," was her trademark line.
Filmography
Down in the Delta
1998 · Movie
as Annie Sinclair
Rosewood
1997 · Movie
as Aunt Sarah
My Fellow Americans
1996 · Movie
as Rita
Promised Land
1996 · TV Show
as Mary Harding
How to Make an American Quilt
1995 · Movie
as Aunt Pauline
No image
Nobody's Girls: Five Women of the West
1995 · Movie
as Clara Brown
Touched by an Angel
1994 · TV Show
as Mary Harding
Scarlett
1994 · TV Show
as Mammy
House of Cards
1993 · Movie
as Adelle
To Dance with the White Dog
1993 · Movie
as Neelie
Message from Nam
1993 · Movie
as Queenie / Elizabeth McQueen
Color Adjustment
1992 · Movie
as Self
Cape Fear
1991 · Movie
as Woman Watching Cady Get Out from Under the Car (uncredited)
The Kid Who Loved Christmas
1990 · Movie
as Esther Clayton
No image
Singer and Sons
1990 · TV Show
Driving Miss Daisy
1989 · Movie
as Idella
Age-Old Friends
1989 · Movie
as Mrs. Baker
The Mighty Quinn
1989 · Movie
as Ubu Pearl
A Raisin in the Sun
1989 · Movie
as Lena 'Mama' Younger
P.K. and the Kid
1987 · Movie
as Mim
Ethnic Notions
1986 · Movie
as Narrator
Murder, She Wrote
1984 · TV Show
as Margaret
Finder of Lost Loves
1984 · TV Show
as Nellie
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The Grand Baby
1983 · Movie
as Momma
The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet
1982 · Movie
as Nurse
The New Odd Couple
1982 · TV Show
as Ms. Gibbs
American Playhouse
1982 · TV Show
as Church Woman, Lena Younger
See China and Die
1981 · Movie
as Momma Sykes
Flamingo Road
1981 · TV Show
Darkroom
1981 · TV Show
as Old Woman
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
1979 · Movie
as Momma
Summer of My German Soldier
1978 · Movie
as Ruth
The Incredible Hulk
1977 · TV Show
Donny & Marie
1976 · TV Show
as Self
Good Times
1974 · TV Show
as Florida Evans
Cleopatra Jones
1973 · Movie
as Mrs. Johnson
Don't Play Us Cheap
1973 · Movie
as Miss Maybell
Maude
1972 · TV Show
as Florida Evans
Who Says I Can't Ride a Rainbow!
1971 · Movie
as Maid
The Learning Tree
1969 · Movie
as uncredited
Up the Down Staircase
1967 · Movie
as Teacher
Nothing But a Man
1964 · Movie
as Church Woman
To Kill a Mockingbird
1962 · Movie
as uncredited role
Hallmark Hall of Fame
1951 · TV Show
